Florida Parental Notification on Abortion Gets Planned Parenthood Lawsuit 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
June 24, 2005
Tallahassee, FL (LifeNews.com) — A parental notification on abortion law that was overwhelmingly approved by Florida voters and the state legislature is the subject of a Planned Parenthood lawsuit.
The abortion business doesn’t want to comply with the law that requires it and other abortion centers to let parents know when their teenage daughter is considering an abortion.
The Center for Reproductive Rights, a pro-abortion New York law firm and Planned Parenthood want a judge to prevent the law from going into effect on July 1, as currently scheduled.
Under the measure, abortion practitioners are obligated to tell parents of a girl 17 or under that she is considering an abortion and to do so 48 hours before performing it. They must meet with the parents or tell them by phone or otherwise send a notice via certified mail 72 hours in advance.
Similar laws in other states have significantly reduced the number of abortions on teenagers.
In a medical emergency, the law can be bypassed with a judicial waiver, and Planned Parenthood claims the statute isn’t sufficient to protect teens in such situations.
Sen. Paula Dockery, one of the bill’s sponsors, says the measure is carefully worded to address those concerns and a lawsuit is unnecessary.
The abortion advocates filed the lawsuit in U.S. District court in Tallahassee and also challenged part of the bill that they say would prevent college students and other non-residents from obtaining abortions.
The Florida state legislature approved a parental notification law after Florida voted backed a ballot initiative calling for one by a 65 to 35 percent margin.
Related web sites:
Florida State Legislature – https://www.leg.state.fl.us
Florida Right to Life – https://www.frtl.org
